Photo Story by Veronica Mwangi 2022
Greening Nairobi's Informal Settlements
During a field work in one of Nairobi’s informal settlements, I came across a group of youth practicing urban agriculture. In the midst of a very crowded and polluted environment they are slowly transforming small spaces into beautiful landscapes while growing food! This particular one is called Consul Farm. Using such spaces within the informal settlement they demonstrate that it is possible to grow vegetables for household consumption in the city. They reuse various materials and containers which have been disposed off as waste as plant-holders. They source for clean water from a neighboring slum. For the youth, the space is also therapeutic as it offers the possibility to dream of a cleaner environment that is more productive. Here is their story in pictures!
Photo 1: Consul farm from the outside. It is fenced with mesh wire and green and black fabric. This location marks the boundary between two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.
Photo 2: Garden from outside
Photo 3: Inside the garden.
Photo 4: Spinach planted in old television casings.
Photo 5: Spinach planted on old jeans trousers.
Photo 6: Carrots planted in wooden crates.
Photo 7: Traditional vegetables planted on the surface.
Photo 8: Onions planted in reused plastic containers (20 litres drinking water plastic bottles cut into half).
Photo 9: A youth tending to the plants.
Photo10: Top view of the garden. A different space from the surrounding.